Scroll through your social media feed lately and you are likely bombarded with vibrant, chewy squares promising to revolutionize your gut health. Gut "health gummies" seem to be the latest sensation with influencers convincing you that your gut health is currently lacking and something must be done to fix it! Amidst the claims of a happier microbiome and less bloat, are these sticky supplements truly worth the hype, or just another catchy marketing trend? 

Clearly, gut health is something to pay attention to and manage. But if you decide to take a gut gummy supplement, here are some things that it should contain:

• Clearly identified strains. The label of a probiotic supplement should specify the exact strain of each probiotic inside. Different strains have different effects, so it is important to have a variety of them in your supplement. If you are struggling with a specific gut health problem, talk to a health care professional who can help you determine what specific strains can assist with the health benefits you are seeking. 

• Sufficient colony forming units (CFUs). Look for a CFU count in the billions. Usually, supplements have 10-20 billion CFU per dose. You can have higher quantities for specific issues but it is good to discuss with a Sport Dietitian first.

• Enteric coating. Probiotics are broken down and killed by stomach acid, so for them to actually have an effect in the body they need to have a delayed release or enteric coating to give them the opportunity to make it to the intestines alive.

Now you know what to look for but what do the majority of those gut health gummies actually offer? Here’s a short list:

• Limited strains. Most probiotic and “gut health” gummies contain only a few strains of probiotics, and some don’t contain them at all! They likely only have one or two, and those strains often aren’t labeled to specify what exactly you are getting. 

• Low potency. Compared to a dedicated probiotic supplement, gummies have significantly lower CFU amounts. One of the most popular gummy probiotic supplements only has a CFU count in the millions. This amount isn’t nearly enough to have any significant effect on your gut health. 

• Easily digestible. While making things easy to digest is typically a good thing, in this scenario it means those probiotics are likely not making it to your small intestine to have any type of effect. Depending on manufacturing processes and how your gummies are stored, those live cultures might already be ineffective by the time they enter your body. 

So, where does this leave you? Start by reading our past article on prebiotic’s and probiotics.

Then, shift your focus to your daily nutrition plan. Incorporate more whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, high fiber grains, and fermented foods like yogurt. Added sugars can promote the growth of undesired bacteria, so try and reduce the amount of simple carbohydrates in your diet. This is a great place to start to improve your digestive health but continue your learning with more of our education articles HERE or check out our YouTube channel HERE.

Of course, if you are thinking of taking a probiotic supplement, reach out to our eNRG Performance Sport Dietitians so we can assess your daily nutrition plan first.

Interested in learning more about gut health and how it could be impacting you as an athlete? Check out Bob’s GI Distress masterclass or his “Eliminating GI Distress in Endurance Athletes” course.